Ending Infinity
by Alysereigns
Summary: Following the aftermath of a universal cataclasymic event, our remaining heroes must find the strength within them to challenge the mad Titan once again and reverse his life-altering snap. Banding together with partners and heroes they never knew of against the all-powerful Thanos becomes their testament of being mighty heroes worthy of bringing existence as it was known back.
1. Ash and Debri

**Titan**

Silence. It envelops the air, carried in the wind on an almost empty planet. The world is barely disturbed, light slowly fading on the orange hues of the desolate land. Debri floats, barely pulled in by gravity, making it the only continuous movement that can be seen. The dead planet is so still that the lands could almost forget that it saw life disappear just moments before.

The unforgiving land of Titan could forget, but Tony couldn't. Ash is now settled onto his sweaty skin, slightly masking the slick sheen and exhaustion. They lost. _They lost. Peter is gone_. The thought brings a heaviness and hopelessness over his body. It hurt too much to move and it hurt too much to feel. He couldn't bring himself to think of Earth, of home, and how his failure affected those he loved.

 _Pepper._

Too much. Imaging her face was too much. The odds were against the universe, failure was imminent. Why didn't he just go to dinner?

"Just did it like that, huh? And to think he didn't invite us to see the grandeur." Tony's voice broke the stillness that had ensued. In his preriferol he could still see Nebula, unmoved.

"He always wins."

It was not a lament, but a fact.

"So he wins, okay. Now what? What do we do when a madman destroys half the life in the universe?" His words did not drip with the usual wit. Posed as a rhetorical was Tony's desperation.

"There is nothing we can do."

"That's it? Nothing? I have the ashy remains of-" too much. The thought was still too much. Tears began to sting the corner of Tony's eyes. "All of life as we know it still needs our help. I refuse to believe this is it. We aren't done until everything that purple bastard has done is reversed."

"He has all of the infinity stones now. He will be near impossible to beat."

Nebula now began to move, her mechanical body beginning to create a distance between her and the beaten Avenger. Tony instinctively shifted to use his suit, but a sudden surge of anxiety and guilt hit him in waves. "Where do you think you're going? Didn't you hear me? We aren't done. Aren't you a part of Quill's band of... interesting individuals? You know that we have to do more."

At his response Nebula pivoted, facing him. "I don't know where I am going, or what to do. I have always fallen short when it has come to my father and his conquests."

Tony blanched at this information. "Excuse me, do you want to repeat that? You are this psychopath's daughter?"

"I was. There was a time that I followed him, and there was a time where I opposed him and Gamora. I hated my father so much that I was willing to destroy anything and anyone if it meant Thanos would meet his end."

Tony plopped backwards onto the ground, pain radiating in his abdomen. He completely forgot that he had been close to death. Running his fingers through his hair, he deeply inhaled, trying to gain focus.

"Okay Daddy Issues, this information is startling and quite frankly very alarming, but you're all I got to work with right now. I need your help. I need to get back to Earth. We need to get back to Earth. I have a team of my own, a team I need to get back to. I don't know who is left, but hopefully there is at least someone that is still there after this... snap. Bring me to Earth and we can go from there."

She stood, staring Tony down. If she was capable of feeling emotion, he wasn't able to read it. She had a steeliness and a rigidness that he found himself slightly admiring. "When you were down, almost defeated, Thanos said that you were cursed with knowledge. You believe you can reverse this. Do you think you can bring back Gamora?"

The question hung in the air.

"The Avengers- whoever is left of them- are going to do their best. That's all I can guarantee."


	2. Unsettled Kingdom

**Wakanda**

The kingdom of Wakanda was usually a bustling place. Liveliness was abundant in the streets as their kingdom prospered under its technological advancements and prominent culture. The wonder and pride that usually flowed throughout the land was gone; confusion, pain, and fear was their replacement. The field where battle was taking place only hours ago was now barren, stripped of life and victory.

The abandoned battlefield was now a distant view out of the throne room's grand windows. Steve stared out to the land, the memory of his fading friends replaying in his mind. To his left stood Natasha, who had been studying his behavior since they had been ushered into the room by Wakanda's General, Okoye. Hovering behind her was Bruce, whose awkwardness was a physical presence in its own.

Not much had been said since the snap happened. Many silent minutes had been spent frozen in disbelief after watching the ashy remains settle in the vegetation. It was only when Okoye stated that she had to go see who was left of the ruling family that life seemed to start to exist again, at least to the best of their abilities. The remaining team had carried Vision's stiff shell to Shuri's lab before receiving a change of clothes and being escorted to the room they were in now.

"We were at the disadvantage. We did all that we could." Natasha's voice was soft, gently pulling Steve out of his thoughts. "You saw how he used the stones. There wasn't anything more we could have done."

"I don't believe that. There has to be something more we could do," he replied.

A soft, but irritated sigh came from Natasha as a response. She still maintained her gaze, but her face now flooded with a tenseness that wasn't as sympathetic as she was originally trying to be. The change in her demeanor did not go unnoticed to Steve.

"Look, we lost this one. I get that. But I don't understand how you're just accepting everything that has just happened." Anger and determination began to take over Steve's senses. "Don't you hear the crying out there? We have to do something. The war isn't over yet. Our family, our friends, our loved ones need our help, whether they are here or not. Babies have disappeared from their mother's arms, doctors have disappered mid surgery, leaders disappeared leaving chaos behind. The world needs us. All the worlds need us."

Bruce hugged his arms closer to his chest, looking at the floor. "Steve, there is no way we can win."

From across the room Thor stirred, broken from the guilt-ridden trance he was in as he held Stormbreaker, his axe, in his hands. "We still have a chance. Fate has us here. We aren't defeated until death is upon us."

"Sure, let's go fight Thanos again. Nothing left for us to lose." The grainy voice of Rocket interjected. He lay defeated on Thor's foot. The raccoon had gravitated towards the lonely Asgardian since he watched Groot turn into dust. Without knowing if the other guardians survived, there was a growing unease in Rocket that could only be distracted by the aches that grief brought.

"That's not true, there is still so much left that can be lost. We could lose each other." Steve said. The words struck a cord with the rest of the room. The tense expression fell from Natasha's face. She glanced to Bruce, then to Steve, discomfort flashing briefly on her face. Unfinished business for another day.

"We weren't ready for Thanos. We weren't ready for the stones and we sure as hell weren't ready for the aftermath. But we need to recuperate and figure out what we're going to do. It's not over y-"

A whoosh and a heavy thud against the walls interrupt Steve. The doors that the team had been led through now welcomed Shuri through the threshold, who was being pursued by Okoye and M'Baku.

"I am not a fit leader. I cannot take the throne." Shuri cried out, either unaware or uncaring that there was an audience.

"You need to stop acting like a child. What about Wakanda? Your people need you," Okoye scolds her in response. "You have been preparing all your life for this."

"T'challa prepared all his life for this, I was never prepared for the throne. Wakanda has no use for me." Tears gloss over her eyes, but the princess stands firm as she faces the room. "My brother and mother are gone. Half of our council is gone. Wakanda deserves better than this."

Her eyes search the room, suddenly aware of all the bodies that were present. Her gaze stops on M'Baku, and she flees toward him, grasping at his arm. "M'Baku, please. You are a warrior and a leader. Wakanda needs you in my brother's place. I serve more purpose in my lab than I do on the throne."

Okoye could not repress her confusion. "Princess, what would you do that could be more well placed than taking the throne during Wakanda's hour of need?"

Shuri now turned to Bruce. "You!" Bruce startles, mouthing "me?" as he gestures towards himself.

"Yes you, stop being timid. You worked on Vision, yes? I think we can bring a version of him back."

A stillness falls over the room. Shuri's confidence in this statement falters slightly as she takes a step back from the group. "I saved enough data to make a new version of him. I can recreate him. He won't be completely the same without the mind stone, but there is enough left to bring him back. What's left would be no different that what we were trying to accomplish before."

M'baku stepped toward Shuri, "I believe you are able to do this, but I think you are able to lead as well. Don't make a decision you will regret, Princess. Tonight we rest, tomorrow we rebuild."


	3. Soul Dreams

_Home. Without opening his eyes, Thanos knew he was there. It had been so long since he had seen Titan in its glory. But here it was, he could sense it._

 _Opening his eyes, Thanos was willing to welcome his home again into his heavy heart. The throne room of his ship greeted him instead. The worn metallic smell penetrated his nonse as the echoes in the spacious chamber magnified the emptiness. He stood behind the throne, his seat of conquest. His destiny._

 _Despite being the most powerful being in the universe, Thanos couldn't command his total power to control his presence. He circles cautiously, feeling as if he is not alone._

 _"Daughter."_

 _The tiny child sat in the throne, her pink wisps of hair flowing in her face as she peers down at Thanos' burnt gauntlet, stones still in tact. Her thin fingers stroke the soul stone, which glows in response._

 _"Even as a child you refused to sit here. Why now?"_

 _Gamora brings her gaze to Thanos. Her face held her usual expression, somehow battered but innocent, brutal but hopeful._

 _"The universe cries itself to sleep because of you."_

 _Irritation tugs at Thanos' mind, but he gives it no power. "The universe is reborn because of me. By channeling cosmic power I brought it a new beginning. You might not see it this way, but this is the truth. I have preserved life."_

 _"You have destroyed it. There will be vengeance."_

 _The irritation began to thin the Titan's patience. "I did what had to be done. I saw the destruction that was occurring so I brought salvation."_

 _A tiny smile hints at the corner of Gamora's lips. She slides the gauntlet onto her hand, which seemed to swallow her arm. The stones began to glow, their colors twinkling bright in merriment. "You have brought an imbalance to the universe. It will be corrected."_


	4. Threads of Space

Despite the loss weighing down Tony's heart, he couldn't stop admiring the beauty and complexities of space as the Guardians' ship flew seamlessly through the universe. Bursts of color, bright pinks and purples, deep rich blues and black, swirled together and apart in symphony and chaos overhead as he worked on the figuring out the communications tech on the ship. With some exposed wiring, he mutters to himself occasionally as Nebula directs the ship where to go.

"Are you always this cheerful?" Tony asks, pressing a wire towards the control board. A flicker of a projected screen flashes in front of him, giving the desperate avenger some hope.

"You are about as worse as Quill," the unemotional Nebula responsed.

"I am nothing like Quill. That moron-" He stops abruptly. Criticizing Peter wasn't going to get him anywhere. Bringing his focus back to the control board, he presses a small button off to the upper corner. The projected image flashes and flickers, but it remains visible. Unmistakable, even with the flickering, was the Stark logo.

"See, only a few hours and I'm able to get into my personal programs on Earth. Without, I might add, making the ship malfunction," Tony says. Getting into his mainframe was the best thing to happen since Titan.

"Congratulations, you have the skill set of an adolescent criminal."

Ignoring Nebula's comment, he types into the keyboard his passwords, hoping to get into his personal computers. The flickering screen goes momentarily dark before Tony is greeted with a connection to his personal computer. In haste he pulls up various windows; different news articles regarding the current state of things on Earth, an email message to send to Rhodey, and, in the middle of it all, a darkened square with a flickering light in the corner next to the name Pepper. "Come on, come on..."

"Tony?"

Tears began to sting the corner of his eyes. The voice of Pepper was small, unsure, and patchy from the weak connection, but it was her. "Yeah, it's me."

"Tony, what's going on? Where are you? Something terrible has happe-"

"I hate to break up your reunion," Nebula interrupts, "but we have company."


End file.
